Portál Pražana
Rare Chacoan peccary offspring in Prague Zoo mean hope for world breeding
At the beginning of May, two rare Chacoan peccary piglets (called Wagner's peccary in Czech from their scientific name Catagonus wagner) were born in Prague Zoo. Now visitors can see them with their parents in outside enclosure at the top of the zoo. This is a great zoological event: the Chacoan peccary has existed since prehistoric times and was only known from archaeological evidence until the 1970s.
Chacoan peccary are endangered, but not extinct
South American peccary are smaller relatives of the wild boars living in the Czech Republic, and similarly, they dig their food from the ground. There are many species and Chacoan peccary is the rarest of all. It was considered an extinct species until 1972, when a small population was found in the forests on the border of Argentina, Bolivia and Paraguay.
Chacoan peccary, like wild boars, live in family herds that inhabit their territory. The herd defends their territory against intruders and marks it with scents produced in odorous glands. It feeds on thorny cacti, roots and insects. Peccaries are threatened by human activity - their numbers are reduced as a result of the conversion of inaccessible areas with dense vegetation where they live on large-scale ranches. This species is included in the IUCN Red List of Endangered Species.
Hope in Prague Zoo
The Czech piglets are a sign of hope for the whole breed. In Europe, this kind of peccary is currently being kept in only seven institutions, with a total of 37 individuals. Tierpark Berlin, which sent four peccaries to Prague Zoo, is the only place that breeds them permanently. One live offspring was also born last year in the Belgian zoo, Planckendael. The Prague piglets were born just a few months after dozens of peccaries perished in the Paraguayan breeding centre, Proyecto Taguá, to an unknown disease that also decimates wild peccaries. That is why breeders all over the world are so excited about the Prague offspring.
INFORMATION ABOUT THE ZOO
U Trojského zámku 120/3, Prague 7
Opening hours:
June: 9am – 7pm (as long as you have entered the zoo before 7pm, it is possible to stay on the premises until 9pm)
Admission:
Adults: CZK 200
Children, students and seniors: CZK 150
Seniors over 70 years: CZK 1